Dreaming of Another World
by Arina and Kai
Summary: In Germany, Ed and Al are barely getting by as a result of what happened after World War I. Al is helping Gracia at her shop, so Ed goes job hunting himself. What surprises lie in that innocent store down the road? [RoyxEd] [Post Movie] [Written by Arina]
1. Chapter One: New Friends, Old Friends?

Okay, just so you all know, this particular fan fiction has been my life for the past while. Whenever a bit of creativity hit, I worked on this. It will be multiple chapters, eventual Roy x Ed, etc. I hope like hell that I can finish this story, seriously, I adore the plot. I've been working on this since, I'd say, about maybe late July? I have a bit of the plot worked out, I know how I may end it, but no guarantees.

It's sad. I actually have a life now. I'm in my schools Army JROTC and, on top of that, I'm getting into the Drama Club/School Play and I'm in the Band. Lately, my time has been scarce. So, I apologize if the chapters for this upload in an ungodly slow way. If you like this, then I have a good bit of the second chapter done.

If people like this story, or if one or two people really love it to the point where I'm getting comments with evidence of begging in them, then I'll post chapter two.

Constructive criticism is awesome too, just no flaming. You flame, I ignore and/or fight you back with good old logic. Catch my drift? This will eventually be yaoi. I am giving you fair warning. Ed is over the age of eighteen in this fic, well over sixteen, so Mustang is no pedophile. "Well yaoi is just gross and wrong." That's fine. That's your opinion. We are all entitled to our opinions. I happen to have wuite a few gay friends and they are some of the best friends I've ever had. Try being open minded? I'm asking that as sincerely as I can.

That all being said, I'll stop myself there. You catch my drift. Either way, this fic is my baby right now. o, I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, the characters, plot, etc.

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"Ugh... damn it, I can't believe this!" The blonde complained, throwing down the newspaper and standing up angrily. "The marks value has gone down again! Are they _trying _to turn us all to poverty!?" He was sick of it, really. Now the mark was practically worthless! "At this rate we'll all be dead or starving by the end of the damn month!" Edward glared at whatever he saw, stomping around while he grabbed his coat and looked for Alphonse.

"Don't worry so much, brother. We haven't been having any trouble lately." The younger tried his best to be optimistic, but he had to admit, the bills were getting a little harder to pay. "Noah helps us, and so does some of what Alphonse left behind." Al emerged from the stairs, coat slung over one shoulder as he searched the room for Ed. "If you're so worried about it look through the help wanted Ads." The younger shrugged, pulling his coat on and walking to the front door, planning on seeing Gracia and her newborn daughter as usual. He was helping her run the flower shop since now she had to take care of the baby and Hughes couldn't take off from his work. Al glanced over his shoulder at his brother, kind of worried.

Ed sighed, pulling his own jacket on. "There's a general store a few streets over that's looking for work, I think I'll stop there." he announced, scribbling a small note on a piece of paper in case he didn't get back before Noah stopped by. Alphonse nodded, waving goodbye and shutting the door behind him. Ed followed close behind, not expecting what he would soon see at the store.

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It was a quaint little building, with two stories and steps leading to the front door. A small bell dangled above said door to notify whoever was inside that someone was coming or going and there were two windows on either side of the building. In one of the windows a small, handwritten 'help wanted' sign hung.

The building itself was wooden, simple. As Edward approached the front door he noticed the small sign that read 'open'. Inside, the place seemed empty save for the goods on various shelves and a counter against the back wall. There was evidence of people being there though, such as a half empty coffee mug by the cash register. The bell chimed as he opened and closed the door, and he called out a cautious and slightly nervous, "Hello?"

A few scuffling noises came from upstairs, accompanied by the sounds of talking and a woman soon hurried down the stairs, a small clipboard in her hands and a pen behind her ear. Her blonde hair was pulled back, pinned to the back of her head by a clip and her blue eyes were soft with apology. "I'm sorry, I was just cleaning up a bit upstairs. Can I help you?" She asked, sitting the clipboard down on the counter and walking back to Edward.

Ed smiled to himself, instantly recognizing the Riza Hawkeye of this world. "Um, yeah. I'm here about a job?" He only wondered whether or not she had a gun hidden on her person, heh. It really wouldn't surprise him in the least. He put his hands in his pockets, moving out of the way of the door just in case.

Riza looked almost surprised as he spoke, looking quickly from him to the sign, "Oh, yes. I didn't expect to get a response to that, to tell you the truth." She turned back to him, looking sheepishly apologetic, "But I'm the only one here right now, and you'd have to speak to the Manager about the job." She kept speaking, looking over Edward's shoulder to the door, "He should be here any time now, he's twenty minutes late." _Again. _The blonde woman sighed, shaking her head. "If you wouldn't mind waiting a little bit, the office is upstairs, we can sit up there until he arrives."

Edward nodded, "That's fine, I don't mind waiting." Riza smiled and nodded in response, starting the walk back up the stairs. Ed followed, wondering what kind of person the manager was now. The steps were fairly steep, leading up to a nicer looking second floor of the shop. There was a clearly marked bathroom, two office doors--one of which was wide open and very clean and organized--, and a small room with a couch, a few chairs, tables, a window, a coffee maker and a sink. There were various other attributes to the room but Edward's mind was pulled away from the very homey space when he heard a key in a lock.

"I'm sure there's a mess and a half in here, please excuse it." Riza spoke, somewhat in a motherly tone. Like a woman fed up with her child's messy room but tolerating it all the same. She removed the key from the door with a small jerk and pocketed the small metal object, opening the door and flicking on a light.

The office was a bit messy, in comparison to the cleaner one next to it. There was a wooden desk and a padded chair in the center of the room, a large window behind it. A telephone and a coffee mug (which held pens and pencils) sat to the left corner of the desk and the rest was just about taken over by paperwork, envelopes, and the like. A small couch was to the right of the room, against the wall. Those were just the major things that stood out, there was of course much more to this room as well. Ed followed Riza's lead, walking into the room and jumping back a bit when he stepped on something, a crumpled piece of paper.

Riza shook her head, kneeling down to pick up the paper, "I swear, he needs to learn where the trashcan is." No sooner had she disposed of the trash then did another voice speak from the doorway.

"Loosen up a bit Riza, jeez. We were seeing who could get the most trash in the basket yesterday, of course some of it missed."

Riza and Ed both turned around, Ed more in surprise than anything. Jean Havoc was leaning casually in the doorframe, cigarette and all. Riza glared at him, "Loosen up? Now that you've given me proof that he's been slacking off again? Where is he anyway, Jean? I have half a mind to go out and search for him soon." The blonde woman meant business, her tone was far from happy.

Havoc shrugged, "I saw him on the way here. We were together until a huge crowd came through, haven't seen him since." He looked down at Edward, questioning with his eyes. "Who's this?" He asked, taking the cigarette from his mouth to speak clearly.

Ed opened his mouth to speak, but Riza beat him to it. "He came a few minutes ago, in response to the sign in the window." She explained, cleaning up the office a little bit.

Havoc nodded, "Oh, all right. What's your name, kid?" He smiled welcomingly, placing the cigarette back in his mouth.

Ed looked up from poking a piece of trash with his foot, "Oh, sorry. My name's Edward...Elric." He wondered whether or not he should say his last name, would these people know about his father?

Havoc nodded, "Nice to meet you Edward, I'm Jean Havoc." He extended his hand, and Ed shook it happily.

Riza chimed in, a much happier tone to her voice, "You can just call me Riza, Edward. I promise I'm a much happier person most of the time."

"When she's not yelling at us twenty-four seven." Havoc mumbled, earning himself a glare. But their little scuffle was interrupted by the dinging of the front door, followed by a bit of annoyed grumbling and footsteps.

Havoc moved out of the doorway and Riza stormed through, stomping down the steps. "_Where_ in the _world_ have you been!?" She shouted angrily. Havoc and Ed exchanged glances and soon cautiously ventured down the stairs themselves, peeking around the wall like the scared morons they were.

Ed almost shouted out in complete and utter shock when he saw whom exactly Riza was yelling at. He stared, wide eyed and mouth slightly agape. But he caught himself before anyone else did. The blond shook his head fiercely, unable to keep himself from staring, the shock refused to wear off. "Colonel...?"

Riza had stopped her verbal assault in order to breathe, and thus the room was pretty quiet when he spoke. Havoc gave him an odd look, "Colonel? Did you know someone that resembled him in the military or something?" Riza and the man looked up at Edward as well, and Ed suddenly found himself looking at the dark blue eyes of Roy Mustang.

This world's Roy was as would be expected. An exact replica of the one in Amestris, only he had no eye patch or gloves. Not ones that produced flame anyway. Ed broke the eye contact and answered Havoc, "No... it's nothing..." Havoc shrugged, walking past a still very thrown aback Ed and making his way downstairs.

"Boss is back, now we actually have to work." He half complained, fishing an apron-like thing out from behind the counter and tying it around his waist. He soon disappeared into a back room, reappearing with boxes that he then started to unload.

Riza sighed, running her hand through her bangs, "Yes, to work with you..." The woman closed her eyes for a minute, considerably calmer than she had been just moments before. She looked back up to Roy, her blue eyes holding a normal sense of calm now, "That boy is here about the job, I told him to talk to you." She said, glancing Ed's way as she spoke.

Roy nodded, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it over his arm, "All right, I'm sure there's a new stack of papers upstairs too?"

"Just a small one."

"Lovely..." Roy sighed comically, apparently he hated paperwork as much as his other self did. The raven haired man started up the stairs, stopping in front of Ed and extending a hand in greeting, "Hello, sorry for the wait. We're usually a bit more organized than this--"

"Since when!?" Havoc shouted, earning himself a glare from both Riza and Roy.

"--but we all just had an off morning." Roy finished, shaking Ed's hand briefly. "My name is Roy Mustang, I'm this building's manager--"

"Though you wouldn't know it from his timing and how he keeps his office." This time came Riza's bland comment.

"--and it seems the others who work here are looking for a very large cut in their paychecks!" he snapped back, grimacing when he heard Havoc start laughing from behind a row of shelves. Roy sighed again, "All right. The office is just up here." Roy walked past Ed and up the rest of the stairs, followed closely by the young blond.

"I'm Edward Elric, it's nice to meet you." Ed greeted, not hiding the smile that played across his lips from Havoc and Riza's little bit of earlier input. This place seemed energetic at least. In a lot of ways it reminded him of Central, which resulted in a very nostalgic feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Once again Edward found himself in the messy office, watching as Roy merely kicked paper balls out of the way as he walked. The man mumbled something about lighting his desk on fire before plopping down in the chair and looking up at Ed, obviously fighting to keep a professional face. "Okay, first things first. Do you know what you'd be getting yourself into if you took this job?"

Ed immediately thought of the scene he just saw downstairs and shrugged, "If you're talking about the people here, I'm fine with it. If not then, I'd like you to explain, please." He spoke casually, an effort to keep from fuming at Roy's likeness, blurting out a report and storming out of the room after getting a short joke thrown at him.

Roy smirked and nodded, "I was talking about mainly just the type of work you'd be doing, but I suppose Jean and Riza count as well. If you get along with them then you must already fit the job description." He pulled a piece of paper out of the small pile on his desk, writing something on it as he spoke, "You'd mainly be helping Jean with odd jobs around here. Stocking shelves, carrying out empty boxes, that sort of thing. It really doesn't require much experience, just a bit of common sense. And maybe a good bit of upper arm strength and elbow grease." The raven haired man had to stop himself from laughing at some remembered joke.

Ed nodded, "That sounds easy enough. What about hours, pay...?" Really, this sounded like something a five year old could do easily. Save for box carrying, anyway. Pay is what he was really concerned about, in these times, though.

"The store hours are from seven a.m. to six p.m. usually, with breaks, six days a week. Like I said, we were all pretty off today except for Riza." Roy sighed, getting another piece of paper, "As for pay, it all depends on how many hours you put in. You'd be getting the same pay as Jean, which is about 150 dollars a week." (I have no idea about German money, so bear with me here. Nor do I have a clue about normal/below average pay.) The man looked up from his paperwork, "Sound all right to you?" He asked, though it really wasn't a question.

Ed nodded, "Yeah, that's fine." He was still fighting the urge to act like a brooding teenager, and he had to remember that he couldn't be as familiar with this Roy as he had been with the other. This Roy knew nothing about him, or his brother. The Elric brothers, in turn, really knew nothing about this world's Roy. It was like starting over, a clean slate.

Roy now wore his trademark smirk, "All right then, Edward, you've found yourself a job." He congratulated. "You can start tomorrow, if you like. Today Jean can show you around a bit." With that he opened a small leather-bound notebook, writing in it. Ed watched him oddly. Was that some sort of work log or something?

As if on cue, Havoc appeared in the doorway again. "Congrats, kid, you're officially now one of Mustang's stooges." He laughed, patting Ed on the shoulder and causing him to stumble a bit. Roy glared up at him in a 'just do your job' kind of way. Jean rolled his eyes, steering Ed out the door. "Okay, okay, we're going. Remind me to come back when you've had more coffee." Everyone tended to be in a better mood in the morning after a cup of coffee, he swore to it.

The day actually passed pretty quickly, with Ed learning the ins and outs of the shop as fast as he learned alchemy back home, the prodigy that he was. Jean and Riza were a bit more open than Roy was about making conversation, which often resulted in comments about the man being antisocial, said just loud enough for Roy to hear and get pissed off about.

The atmosphere at the shop was just all around very easy to get used to, Ed was actually sorry to leave at the six. He wanted to stay, get to know his old friends. But, all good things had to come to an end, and there was always tomorrow. The blond said goodbye to everyone, throwing a few glances back at Roy on his way out, and went to find Al at Gracia's flower shop. Of course he saw Gracia and Maes there as well, with their baby girl. This world's Maes was almost as obsessed with his family as the one Ed had come to know, but this Maes knew when to keep it down to a dull roar better than Roy's best friend.

Ed and Al left the shop before Ed mentioned his new job. "So, I got the job at that store today." He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets and grinning.

Al looked over at him, happily surprised, "Really? Brother, that's great!" He congratulated, grinning a very childish grin. "We have to tell, Noah!" They'd helped Noah get a job and her own home, and they still kept in close touch with her.

Ed nodded, "But... that's not the best part..." He smiled, lost in memory for a brief minute. "You'd never believe me if I told you who I saw there, Al. It's amazing." He walked at a slower pace, unintentionally going into a daydream again.

Alphonse watched his brother for a minute, deciding not to say any more on the subject. It had been so long since he'd seen the elder like this, he didn't want to spoil the moment by asking who was there. "You know I'd believe you..." He spoke softly, barely audible. Of course Edward didn't hear, as far off as he was. Back in Amestris, as close as they could get to their old home at this point.

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Hehe, for once, no cliffhanger ending. Shocker, for me anyway. Well, at least now you wont be too eagerly anticipating the next chapter, if I get a good response from this.

I'm sorry about the length of my opening, really I am. I'm longwinded lately, I blame role playing.

Feel free to school me in the way of life back then, by the way. I love history, so anything said nicely and civilly will be taken just as nicely and civilly by me. So, if you know more than I do or see a flaw in my historical stuff in here, feel free to say something.

Read and Review please?


	2. Memories

Okay, so I admit, this chapter is pretty boring until you hit the bottom. It's really just supposed to be a filler, leading up to a good part. Either way, I'm proud of myself for getting it done.

Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and the alerts. I love reading reviews, so please, send 'em along! I check my inbox every day in hopes of seeing some for something other than the story 'Mother Demon'.

Anyway. Yeah, I won't write a novel up here like I usually do.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to own Fullmetal Alchemist, nor it's characters. Don't sue me, damn it.

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"Glad you decided to show up, Edward. Get lost in the cracks in the sidewalk?" Roy asked, leaning on the counter casually and reading the newspaper. Ed had woken up late, and thus had come into work late.

The blond glared at him, "Shut up, I'm not that short." He was a little over five feet now, darn it. Though he wasn't going to grow any more, he was quite proud of that height. "I woke up late, I'm sorry." He apologized quickly, trying to make up for telling the other to 'shut up'. He had said it instinctively, he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. He didn't know a thing about this Roy, but he couldn't get it through his head. Shrugging his jacket off, he hung it up and walked around Roy to the storage closet. "Where is everyone?" Hawkeye and Havoc weren't anywhere in sight.

Roy answered calmly, "Riza had to go visit her sick niece this morning and will be in shortly. Jean is out back having a cigarette." He was writing in his little book again, pausing every so often as if thinking only to begin writing once more. Ed swore that a few times he caught the older man glancing questioningly in his direction.

Ed watched him for a minute before looking away and grabbing the broom out of the closet. "Col-- I mean, Roy, " wow that would be hard to get used to. "... Nevermind." The dark haired man gave him an odd look, but shrugged it off as the blond set to work sweeping the floor. The bell on the door chimed and a man and his small daughter walked in. Ed looked up when Roy addressed them like friends and customers.

"Mr. Tucker, nice to see you again. And, Nina, too." He welcomed, making Ed flinch visibly. The blond cautiously glanced over his shoulder at the two, not at all surprised to see that they were, indeed, who he thought they were.

Rage, sadness, despair, relief, he didn't know which was the dominant emotion. He quickly walked behind a couple of shelves, out of line of vision. They were the same... but they weren't the same... they only looked like their Amestrian counterparts...they had completely different personalities, lifestyles, memories... But of course, Ed didn't. But right now he wished that he was that way too, completely different and fitted to this world. "Nina..." He felt the tears coming, and wiped at his eyes with his sleeve before trying to walk calmly to the back door, but failing as he saw the two again and forcing himself to run.

Roy watched, completely thrown back as he watched the blond push roughly out the back door. "I'll be right back." He got up and followed Ed out the door, passing a very confused Jean Havoc along the way.

Ed kept running, and fast. He hopped the fence surrounding the back yard of the shop, stopping only when he felt he was far enough away that nobody would come looking for him right away. He felt so childish for overreacting like this, but the memories... they refused to be pushed away and they flashed before his eyes. The chimera, Tucker as he proudly showed off his latest creation. ...The way she had to die...

He didn't even hear someone behind him.

Roy slowed to a walk (he had been running to try to catch up to the other), catching his breath as he tried to figure out what was going on. They had ended up on a slightly forest-y area of town, maybe thirty feet away from the busy roads and shops. All he saw really though was Edward, leaning against a tree, obviously upset over something. "Ed, what happened?" He asked , cautiously, not moving from where he stood maybe seven feet away.

This startled the blond a bit and he turned his head to look over at Roy, wiping his eyes again. "It's nothing, don't worry about it..." He muttered in an angry tone. He was angry with himself, when would he ever learn to just grow up?

He watched Ed, sighing. "Did it have anything to do with Shou and his daughter?" He asked. Ed cringed, and he knew he had hit the mark. "Did something happen between you guys?" He pressed for information. "You don't have to say if you don't want to, I'm just a little worried." He stuffed his hands into his pockets, not taking his dark eyes off of the other.

Ed didn't turn to face him, but he spoke anyway. "He... they just look like some people I knew. They... died. A long time ago. A long way from here..." Well, part of that was true... "The little girl was murdered, after she got a ... disease. Her father killed himself after that, since his wife left him." There, that was a good enough excuse. And he was crying, so that gave an excuse for the pauses. Now he only had to hope that Mustang took the white lie.

Roy was still watching him. "Are you all right? Need a bit of time to calm down?" He asked, slightly skeptical. _A man, and an odd talking animal. The same man and a small girl in braided pig tails. A large white dog. The man again, and a creature that looked like the dog with a mane of red-brown hair. A mass of blood on the back wall of an alleyway. A crying boy and a huge suit of armor... _He remembered that so well... it was one of the most vivid dreams he'd had. "I can sympathize with you a little bit, I've seen a lot of familiar faces around, people tend to look so similar to each other. But, you just have to learn to control yourself." He shrugged, but not in an uncaring way.

Ed remained silent for a minute, trying to wait until his voice grew steadier, "...that's not something you get over easily..."

"You have to try, Ed, I'm sorry."

"Just give me a minute. I'll be back eventually..."

Roy debated, wanting so badly to try to offer some comfort to the blond, but the right words wouldn't come. "All right. If you need me, I'll be back at the store." The hidden message in that was, 'if you need to talk, you know where to find me.'

Ed nodded. "Yeah, all right... thanks." He was starting to calm down now, wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeve and breathing heavily to try to get the lump in his throat to leave.

Roy reluctantly left the boy alone, his mind was reeling but he doubted that his suspicions were true. It was just an odd coincidence, that's it. Nothing more. He made his way through the wooded area, jumping the fence behind the shop and meeting up with a very confused Jean and Riza. Roy crossed the back lawn , stopping a couple of feet before his two perplexed friends.

jean had a new cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, his arms were folded over his chest in a questioning way. "Where did you run off to? Where's Ed?" He asked, glancing over Roy's shoulder as if expecting Ed to be coming along behind the man. Riza, not having even taken off her jacket yet, gave him the same questions with her eyes.

Roy kept an indifferent face. "He'll be back soon. Are Mr. Tucker and his daughter still here?" If they were, he wanted to promptly apologize, but Riza shook her head.

"They were leaving as I arrived." The blond woman gave Roy a look, a look that said quite blatantly that she knew he wasn't giving them the whole story. But then again, it was really none of their business, so she didn't press the subject further.

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Ed returned to the small shop a few minutes later, looking perfectly normal. He said nothing for the rest of the day, though, merely going about his job and doing whatever else he was told. He knew he was overreacting, but it was just a bit too much at once. They all left the shop one by one as the sun set and closing time approached, and soon it was just him and Roy in the small building.

The blond was just finishing sweeping a bit of dirt from the floor, putting the broom back in the storage closet and throwing his waist apron behind the counter with Havoc's. He could hear Roy bustling around upstairs, shuffling a few papers together before he heard footsteps and the lock of a door. Ed glanced up briefly as the dark haired man came down the stairs with a relieved look on his face. Ed assumed that he was just glad to be going home for the night.

"Full-," he coughed, trying to hide that little slip, "er, Edward. Are you all right?" He asked, hoping the blond didn't hear, or rather understand, what he had very nearly said.

Ed noticed, he noticed it big time. He gave the older man a suspicious look, "Yeah, I'm fine now, why?" He could have sworn the man had almost called him Fullmetal...

Roy shrugged, setting his things down on the counted and grabbing his jacket from the hook, "I was just a bit worried, since you haven't said a word since this morning." He quickly put the black jacket on, grabbing his paperwork from the counter and facing the younger.

Ed smiled, "Thanks for your concern, but really, everything's all right now." He tried to sound as truthful as he could considering he still felt a little upset.

"All right. Lock this front door when you leave, all right?"

The blond nodded, watching the others' back as he walked out the door, to his car, and home for the night. Sighing, he walked over to get his own coat, glancing at the clock and seeing... a book? He grabbed his coat off the rack and walked over to the counter, seeing the familiar black notebook that Mustang carried around all the time. "Huh... he must've left it here..." Ed spoke to himself, picking the book up and examining the cover, never having really gotten a good look at it before. He shrugged, placing the book under his arm. He'd keep it for the bastard and bring it in tomorrow. It was no big deal.

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"What's that, brother?" Alphonse asked, looking over Edward's shoulder to the book he held in his hands, just kind of staring at it.

The blond looked up and shrugged, "It belongs to my boss, he left it at work today." He stated simply, knowing Al could figure out just why Ed brought it home himself. He knew the other well enough.

The younger Elric just shrugged it off though, heading upstairs. "All right. I'm going to bed for the night, see you in the morning." He called over his shoulder, soon disappearing upstairs and leaving Ed alone in their kitchen, still staring at the book.

Then, he came to a conclusion. "He doesn't have to know. It couldn't hurt..." He had been contemplating reading the mysterious book for ages, it had been killing him to know just what was written inside. cautiously, he opened the book to a random page...

_The sun shone brightly in the sky above, it looked like a desert city. But everything was in chaos. Gunshots were sounding in the background and the shouting of men, women, and children alike filled the air. In the distance, I could hear an officer shouting orders to his men. _

_In front of me, a boy, probably no older than seventeen years old and wielding a gun, cowered in fear. I was afraid too, I was shaking and for some reason, I snapped my fingers and the boy in front of me erupted in flames..._

_...Riza was there, but she had shorter hair and wore a uniform similar to everyone else's. She snatched a phone off of it's hook and shouted, "Sir, let me give you a bit of womanly advice. Babies aren't born after just five months!!" I'm not sure who she was talking to, but I got a good laugh when I woke up. _

_"Master Sergeant Feury, during your last physical examination we discovered a severe case of athletes foot... and we now believe that it is affecting your brain."_

_I was in a room, with one other person. It looked like a library, and I was holding a skull..._

_There was a golden haired boy, with his right arm and left leg missing, being watched over by an old lady, a young girl, and a seven foot suit of armor..._

...Ed stopped flipping through the pages there, those few sentences that he'd glimpsed on those pages were more than enough to send his heart racing in his chest. "No... how could he..." The examined the words on the pages carefully, making sure he didn't miss anything. The Ishbal Massacre, he noticed that one from what he'd heard from the Colonel. And then... he remembered the last entry so clearly, the night he and Al...

He couldn't resist the temptation. The blond flipped through the pages some more, finding more incidents that he remembered all too clearly, trying to figure out where the Roy from this world was getting all of this information from. That's how he spent the better part of his night.

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Har, har. So. Ed finds the book, Ed reads the book, Ed can't decipher the book to save his life. So basically, the next chapter will be really interesting, in my opinion anyway.

Questions, comments, constructive criticism? Review, please!


	3. Confide in Me

Whoo, chapter three! I promise, Roy IS more perceptive that I make him out to be in this. He's waiting for Ed to tell him the truth before he reveals that he knows the truth himself.

Anyway, I'm home from school today, bleh. I got next to no sleep last night and my eyes are all puffy from being out in the woods yesterday. I LIVE in the woods, you'd think I'd be immune by now.

NOPE!

Well, enjoy. Sorry if it's a bit boring.

Oh, by the way, I'm looking for a Beta. I have excellent spelling, grammar, etc skills, but it's hard for me to catch those few and far between mistakes on my own. So, if you would like to Beta my work (and be mah buddeh? xD) feel free to send me a message, comment on this story, etc. If I really like you, I'll give you my YIM so we can talk.

Disclaimer: Bah...not mine.

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The rain poured in buckets from the sky the next morning, soaking absolutely everything. Al was certainly glad that he wasn't stuck in the armor anymore, else he'd probably collect a lot of rain really fast, wash off the blood seal, and die. And they said a bit of water never killed anyone, ha. But, he wasn't armor, and thus all he had to worry about was finding an umbrella for himself and Ed. They only had one, so Ed had to walk with Al to the flower shop so they could share the umbrella.

The elder blond had certainly not forgotten the previous night. He had the book safely tucked away in his jacket, an attempt to keep it dry. He hadn't told Al about the contents of the book. And he certainly wasn't going to confront Roy about it.

The brothers hurried down the streets, dodging people and trying to stay dry at the same time. It was a relief to stumble awkwardly into the shop, where Gracia, Hughes, and the newborn stood waiting. Maes was just on his way out the door when he caught Ed's eye, snatched the baby from his wife and began to proudly show the poor child off. :Edward! It's been a long time, how have you been? Oh, you missed the most adorable thing yesterday! Elysia was getting put down for her nap and I could have sworn that she said daddy for the first time!"

Ed just smiled and nodded, used to this. "That's great, officer. I'd stay and chat more but I need to get to work." He turned to Al, who was greeting Gracia. "I'll see you later, Al." He called, unfolding the umbrella once again and venturing out into the nearly flooded streets. Al waved back, calling out something that Ed couldn't hear over the pouring rain.

The blond ran through the downpour once more, keeping his hand over the lump in his jacket that was the book. Once he reached the shop he gratefully shook the rain out of his hair and folded his umbrella, leaning it up against the wall and sighing. Somehow, he still managed to get drenched.

Havoc laughed heartily at Ed, thoroughly amused by this. "Need a towel, Ed?" he asked, half sarcastically, fighting a fit of chuckles.

Ed rolled his eyes. "No, I'm fine. Is Roy here, yet?" Ed hadn't noticed if his jacket was hanging up or not, and quite frankly was a little scared to look.

Havoc nodded, "Yeah, he's upstairs." With that the older man went back to sweeping the floor, though he should really be mopping it with all of the water on the floor. Ed nodded to him and hesitantly walked up the stairs to the second floor, still keeping one hand on the book. He reached the familiar door that led to Roy's office, knocking a few times before hearing Mustang's voice tell him it was all right to come in.

The blond peeked around the doorframe, stepping inside the office and meeting up with a normal-looking Roy. "Hey, you uh, left this here last night." He said, taking the book out of his pocket and handing it to the man.

Roy's eyes widened a small bit but returned to normal in a matter of seconds. "Oh, thank you. I thought I'd lost it." He smirked his trademark smirk, tucking the book away into one of his desk drawers and folding his hands under his chin. "So, Edward, fall into a cup of water this morning? You look like a drowned rat."

Already with the jokes. Ed glared at him, "In case you haven't noticed, it's pouring buckets outside." He grumbled, folding his arms stubbornly over his chest.

The older man laughed, "I think I _have _realized that." He sighed, leaning back in his chair and asking casually. "Did any of that sound familiar to you?"

Ed looked up, having been glaring at the floor, with a surprised look on his face at the change of subject. At least, he _thought_ it was a change of the subject. "Um... what?" The blond looked genuinely stumped, a look he hadn't really felt on his own face since having to study for the Alchemy Exams and being quizzed by Shou Tucker. "Any of what?"

Roy's expression remained impassive. "The notebook. I know you read it." It wasn't hard to read the slight look of guilt that the other had on his face when he first walked through the door. "Did any of those passages seem familiar to you?"

He wanted so badly to say yes... "No, sir, they didn't." Ed averted his gaze, looking to the floor again in thought. "...they sounded like nice stories, though." He quickly tried to amend.

The older man's expression hadn't changed still. "I'm not sure what they are, myself." He admitted, leaning forward again to rest his head in his left hand. "I have those dreams nearly every night. Always of the same places, people, things... Through those dreams I've seen a lot of familiar faces. It seems that once I see a person for the first time, they start showing up in my dreams." Fresh, new, for a while. There were a few dreams, or rather nightmares, that reoccurred and never failed to wake him up breathless, his heart racing, and on the verge of tears, feeling immense guilt or worry.

Ed listened intently. "So... you have dreams of some other world?" He inquired, knowing full well what the answer would be. He was curious to learn more, though. Was it just a coincidence...? He'd never even dreamed the older man would just open up to him like this. The Colonel would have never... he couldn't even imagine it happening.

Roy nodded, "Yes, that seems to be the case. But they're so real, I actually feel the pain, smell the smells, hear the..." He didn't finish his sentence. "Either way, sometimes I don't know one world from the other."

Ed couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Who knows. Maybe this world is the dream and the one you write about is reality."

The raven-haired man sighed, "Yeah... who knows..."

----

The day sped by after that, with Roy hanging out downstairs more often than he normally would (or Hawkeye would let him), even occasionally helping Ed with his work (aka: reaching high places) while the two of them talked. Ed spoke about Al a lot, Roy was surprised to find that the blond had a younger brother.

"_Really?_" The older man's voice was incredulous, yet suspecting at the same time, making Ed laugh as he worked on helping Jean carry boxes into the storage closet as an end-of-the-day job.

Ed nodded, "Mmhm. He's..." Ed had to stop and think for a minute, so as not to slip and accidentally say, 'he's one year younger than me' when now, the other Elric was really about four years younger than him. "He's four years younger than me." God that felt weird to say... it made him a little homesick. He sat the large brown box down, kicking it the rest of the way into the closet. He was getting lazy. "But you wouldn't know it." He wouldn't go into more detail than that.

Thankfully, Roy let that subject drop, but started a new one. "So, is it just you two?" The older man watched as Ed untied the work waist-apron from around himself and stuck it under the counter. The younger got an odd look on his face when he'd heard the question, a mix between thought and ... was it despair?

"Yes, it's just us. Our mom died when we were little kids, and our dad got killed just two years ago." Neither of which were experiences he wanted to relive. One of few times he hadn't despised and hated his father, the Thule Society had to go and use him as Envy-Bait. He didn't mind answering the questions, it was just the mental images that came with them.

Roy looked honestly surprised, and yet at the same time, he looked as if he'd seen that coming. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, wasn't your fault, right?" The blond grinned happily, trying to portray that he really wasn't worried by it. He'd long since gotten over it all. History seemed to be repeating itself. He and Al were on their own again, only this time, they weren't chasing anything. Sure, they attempted Alchemy in their spare time, but... it was always a futile attempt. Like he'd said a couple of years back, Ed was a sucker for nostalgia.

Roy still looked a bit depressed, though. "Still, that's a lot to go through before you even his twenty-five." Both of his parents were still alive, although they lived in a different country.

Just then, a rock flew in and broke the window.

"Aryan's only, all else be gone" was written to a piece of paper tied to the rock.

"So...they haven't given up yet..." He looked up at Roy, who had picked up the rock and was now tossing it up and down in his hand. He now felt a bit of concern for the older man, who looked thoroughly unscathed and, very quickly, pegged the rock back out the now broken window.

"Damn kids. They need something better to do than listen to their parents ideals." And of course, now they had a broken window to patch up. Thankfully, a bit of glue might work, since all of the pieces were fairly large (Ed counted ten pieces of broken glass with no small shards lying around).

"I'm guessing this happens often?" Ed asked. Roy was, really, the only person that worked in this shop with dark hair. The rest of them were blond(e) and had (mostly) blue-like eyes. Ed remembered clearly the praise Alphonse H had gotten because he and the others working on the rockets were all 'perfect models of the Aryan race.'

Roy sighed, getting a large, flat, wooden board out from the closet and sitting it in the window to cover the hole for the night. "Every so often some smart ass does something like this. It's the first time they've broken a window though."

Hating someone just for their hair, eye, and skin colors... Ed remembered that well. The Ishbalan race back in Amestris was a perfect example. Now he understood a bit...exactly how closely connected their two worlds were. "It was the same way... they had dark skin and red eyes, and were ostracized because of it."

Roy raised an eyebrow at the younger, having been in the middle of picking up what he could of the glass. "Are you referring to my note book again?" He asked, somewhat skeptically.

..."No. This time, I'm going from memory." As he said this, Ed couldn't help but look down at his right arm, paler than the rest of his body, that hid the mechanical limbs of Winry's creation.

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Oh the suspense! Hehe. I looove cliff hangers. I'm sure you all don't, but they're fun to write!

Read and review please?


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